$8 million gift will go toward animals, environment

An $8 million gift to the Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut — the largest in its 31-year history — will be used to set up an endowment fund for causes related to animal welfare and environmental protection, officials announced on Tuesday.

“We’re thrilled. It provides us with an opportunity to become a player in an area where the needs are huge, and we will have the kind of funding that, if leveraged well, can really move the needle on these types of issues in our area,” foundation President Maryam Elahi said.

Rather than award the money as a lump sum, Elahi said, officials are planning to set up an annual endowment and disburse about $320,000 a year to recipients. The fund was established though a bequest by Peter Grayson Letz, a North Stonington resident who died in September 2013 and left the value of his estate after taxes to the New London-based nonprofit.

Before any grants are handed out, Elahi said, the foundation plans to spend several months drafting a strategic plan to target areas of most pressing need and how best to disburse the money.

“We want to be very thoughtful about this, and not rush it,” she said. “Our plan is to be very judicious about how we distribute this money.”

Including Letz’s gift, the foundation has nine funds focused on animals and environment totaling $13 million. The nonprofit, which has a 42-town service area, has an overall endowment of $51 million and comprises more than 430 charitable funds.

Maggie Jones, executive director of the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center in Mystic, said the new funding source presents unprecedented opportunities for conservation groups, land trusts and other groups to broaden their roles in aiding the region.

“Anything that funds works related to the environment and protecting the environment will have long-term benefits that will impact everybody in our community,” Jones said. “It’ll provide some potential long-term funding for areas like caring for injured wildlife and a lot of other aspects of what we do.”

According to the foundation, Peter Letz was the son of George P. Letz and Beverly Gray Letz, residents of Groton for more than 60 years. He attended Pine Point School and Fitch High School. His father was a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and spent the majority of his career with Electric Boat. The elder Letzes established a scholarship fund with the foundation in 1989 for students attending Fitch High School and created a similar fund in 2009 to aid graduates of North Stonington’s Wheeler High School through a provision in their estate plan. Peter had one brother, Christopher, who died before him.